Manufacture of welted boots or shoes



(No Model.)

M. L. KEITH.

MANUFAOTURB OF WELTED BOOTS OBJ SHOES. No. 381,384.

Patented Apr. 17, 1888.

WEA/TDR:

WWA/55555- Nieren raras PATENT Diarrea.

@MYRON L. KEITH, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MANUFACTURE OF WELTED BOTS OR SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 381,384, dated April 17, 1888.

Application filed January 13, 1888.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MYRoN L. KEITH, of Brockton, in the county-of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in the Method of Making Velted Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to facilitate and improve the application of welts to the uppers of boots and shoes; and it consists, as a whole, in the; following steps, viz: first cementing the welt to the inwardly-turned edge ef the lasted upper, then permanently attaching the welt to the upper and inner sole by stitches or other suitable fastenings, then eementing the outer sole to the welt, and finally permanently securing the outer sole to the welt by the usual means,the welt being molded to the desired form prior to its application to the upper, as I will now proceed to describe.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents the bottom ot' a lasted upper prior to the application of the welt. Fig. 2 representsasection on line .c fr, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a View similar to Fig. l, showing the welt cemented to the upper. Fig. et represents a section on line i/ y, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a section showing the permanent fastenings which attach the welt to the upper and the inner sole. Fig. 6 represents a` similar section showing the outer sole secured to the welt. Fig. 7 represents the strip from which the welt is made, and Fig. 8 represents the molded welt made from said strip.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out my invention I last the upper ain the usual manner, and to its edges, which are turned inwardly on the bottom of the last, I secure by cement a welt, b, the inner side of the welt being first coated with ce! ment and then pressed by any suitable means against the inwardly-turned portions of the upper. I prefer to press the welt against the said portions of the upper by the tlexible pad of asole-laying machine such as is shown in various patents issued to the Boot and Shoe Sole Laying Company. After the cement has sufficiently dried or set, the welt is secured to the upper and to the inner sole, c, by stitches or Serial No. 260,652. (No model.)

other permanent fastenings, d, as shown in Fig. 5. This method of securing the welt entirely does away with tacks or nails in the welt before permanently fastening it to the shoe, and ob- Viates the various Well-known objections to the multiplication of tacks or nails in a boot or shoe bottom. The outer sole, f, may afterward be secured by first cementing it to the welt or inner sole by the use of a sole-laying machine such as is above referred to, and then, after the cement has set permanently, attaching the outer sole to the welt by stitches s or other permanent fasteni-ugs. By thus using cement for the preliminary attachment of both the Welt and outer sole I entirely discard tacks or nails, excepting such as may be employed in lasting the upper.

I employ a molded welt substantially such as is described in my pending application for patent of earlier date than the `present application. In making said Welt I first eut from a piece of sole-leather a straight strip, i, (shown in Fig. 7,) and then wet said strip and place it in a mold or chamber, the inner surface of which has the outline which it is desired to give the outer edge of the welt, the strip t being suitably bent and manipulated to cause it to lie against the wall of said mold in thc form of a skeleton sole. Then, when thestrip is properly adjusted within the mold, I apply a heavy pressure to the welt by means of a follower inserted in the mold, and thus make the curved welt perfectly fiat. The pressure is maintained until the welt has dried, the form imparted by the described operations being thus made permanent, so that the molded welt can be placed on and secured to the bottom of the upper with nearly the same ease and facility as a sole.

It is obvious that the preliminary fastening of the outer sole may be effected by other methods than by cement.

I claim- 1. In the manufacture of weltcd boots or shoes, the improved step consisting of temporarily attaching a welt molded to required shape to the upper by means such as cement, and then permanently attaching said welt to the upper and inner sole, as set forth.

2. The improved method of making weltcd boots or shoes herein described, the same con- IOO 2 salem sisting in molding a strip of leather into a form corresponding to the margin or contour of the outer sole, temporarily securing said molded Welt to the upper, permanently attaching said molded Welt to the upper and inner sole, and [5 nally attaching the outer sole to the molded Welt.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses, this 23d day of December, zo A. D. 1887.

x MYRON L. KEITH.

Witnesses:

RUFUs E. PACKARD, IRA A. LEACH. 

